Troy-Bilt Self Propelled Mower Model Series 860
by Joe
(South Carolina)
My yard is about a third of an acre with lots of trees and on a slight slope. I would mow horizontally on a path with power on the rear wheels and then I disengaged the gears while I turned around. Then I engaged the gears again mowing in the opposite direction.
I could not keep the gears engaged while a turned around. This method worked fine for almost two years and then the gears failed to engage. Looks like I burned out the clutch.
I always made sure I raised the handle all the way to engage the gears and lowered it all the way to disengage the gears.
Rather than push a mower with a failed drive, I removed the gears from each of the rear wheels. However, the drive belt is still on its pulley. As it turned out the mower is fairly easy to push (and pull) and furthermore it does not make the grinding sound when I push the mower while it is not running.
